University of Hail

Faculty of Engineering
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

ME 204 - Thermodynamics II
Course Notes Chapter 9: GAS POWER CYCLES

Prepared by Pr. Noureddine Ait Messaoudene Based on : Yunus A. Cengel and Michael A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach, 6th Edition, McGraw Hill, 2007.

Important note: THESE COURSE NOTES ARE PREPARED BASED ON THE TEXTBOOK Yunus A. Cengel and Michael A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach; 6 Edition, McGraw Hill, 2007. THEY ARE IN NO WAY A REPLACEMENT OF THE TEXTBOOK. STUDYING AND READING THE TEXTBOOK REMAINS ESSENTIAL. THIS IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT FOR THE EXAMPLES.
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Thermodynamics 2- ME204

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Chapter 9

GAS POWER CYCLES

Two important areas of application for thermodynamics are power generation and refrigeration. Both are usually accomplished by systems that operate on a thermodynamic cycle. Thermodynamic cycles can be categorized as: Depending on the function Power cycles: The devices or systems used to produce a net power output are often called engines. Refrigeration cycles: The devices or systems used to produce a refrigeration effect are called refrigerators, air conditioners, or heat pumps. Depending on the phase of the working fluid Gas cycles: the working fluid remains in the gaseous phase throughout the entire cycle. Vapor cycles: the working fluid exists in the vapor phase during one part of the cycle and in the liquid phase during another part. Depending on the nature of the cycle Closed cycles: the working fluid is returned to the initial state at the end of the cycle and is recirculated. Open cycles: the working fluid is renewed at the end of each cycle instead of being recirculated. Heat engines are categorized, depending on how the heat is supplied to the working fluid, as : Internal combustion engines: (such as steam power plants), heat is supplied to the working fluid from an external source such as a furnace, a geothermal well, a nuclear reactor, or even the sun . External combustion engines: (such as automobile engines), heat is supplied to the working fluid by burning the fuel within the system boundaries. Objectives Evaluate the performance of gas power cycles for which the working fluid remains a gas throughout the entire cycle. Develop simplifying assumptions applicable to gas power cycles. Review the operation of reciprocating engines. Analyze both closed and open gas power cycles (Otto, Diesel, Stirling, Ericsson, Brayton cycle, and jet-propulsion cycles). Identify simplifying assumptions for second-law analysis of gas power cycles.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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91 BASIC CONSIDERATIONS IN THE ANALYSIS OF POWER CYCLES

Most power-producing devices operate on cycles. The cycles encountered in actual devices are difficult to analyze because of the presence of complicating effects, such as friction, and the absence of sufficient time for establishment of the equilibrium conditions during the cycle. To make an analytical study of a cycle feasible, we have to keep the complexities at a manageable level and utilize some idealizations (simplifying assumptions). When the actual cycle is stripped of all the internal irreversibilities and complexities, we end up with a cycle that resembles the actual cycle closely but is made up totally of internally reversible processes. Such a cycle is called an ideal cycle. It is a simplified cycle, but it still retains the general characteristics of the actual cycles it represents. A simple idealized model enables engineers to study the effects of the major parameters that dominate the cycle without taking into account all the details. The simplified analysis presented in this chapter for various power cycles of practical interest may also serve as the starting point for a more in-depth study.

Heat engines are designed for the purpose of converting thermal energy to work, and their performance is expressed in terms of the thermal efficiency th, which is the ratio of the net work produced by the engine to the total heat input: (91)

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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Heat engines that operate on the totally reversible Carnot cycle have the highest thermal efficiency of all heat engines operating between the same temperature levels. So why not use the Carnot cycle as the model cycle for all the heat engines instead of bothering with several so-called ideal cycles? The answer to this question is hardware related (no actual design is able to function according to this cycle). The idealizations and simplifications commonly employed in the analysis of power cycles can be summarized as follows: 1. The cycle does not involve any friction. Therefore, the working fluid does not experience any pressure drop as it flows in pipes or devices such as heat exchangers. 2. All expansion and compression processes take place in a quasi-equilibrium manner. 3. The pipes connecting the various components of a system are well insulated, and heat transfer through them is negligible.

Neglecting the changes in kinetic and potential energies of the working fluid is another commonly utilized simplification in the analysis of power cycles (the only devices where the changes in kinetic energy are significant are the nozzles and diffusers, which are specifically designed to create large changes in velocity and are not studied in the present chapter).

Property diagrams such as the P-v and T-s diagrams are used as valuable aids in the analysis of thermodynamic cycles. On both the P-v and T-s diagrams, the area enclosed by the process curves of a cycle represents the net work produced during the cycle, which is also equivalent to the net heat transfer for that cycle.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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The T-s diagram is particularly useful as a visual aid in the analysis of ideal power cycles. On a T-s diagram, a heat-addition process proceeds in the direction of increasing entropy, the area under the heat addition process is a geometric measure of the total heat supplied during the cycle qin a heat-rejection process proceeds in the direction of decreasing entropy, the area under the heat rejection process is a measure of the total heat rejected qout an isentropic (internally reversible, adiabatic) process proceeds at constant entropy.

The difference between the two areas representing qin and qout (the area enclosed by the cyclic curve) is the net heat transfer, which is also the net work produced during the cycle. Therefore, on a T-s diagram, the ratio of the area enclosed by the cyclic curve to the area under the heataddition process curve represents the thermal efficiency of the cycle. Any modification that increases the ratio of these two areas will alsoincrease the thermal efficiency of the cycle. 92 THE CARNOT CYCLE AND ITS VALUE IN ENGINEERING The Carnot cycle is composed of four totally reversible processes: isothermal heat addition, isentropic expansion, isothermal heat rejection, and isentropic compression.

The P-v and T-s diagrams of a Carnot cycle are as follows:

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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The Carnot cycle is the most efficient cycle that can be executed between a heat source at temperature TH and a sink at temperature TL, and its thermal efficiency is expressed as

(92)

Reversible isothermal heat transfer is very difficult to achieve in reality because it would require very large heat exchangers and it would take a very long time Therefore, it is not practical to build an engine that would operate on a cycle that closely approximates the Carnot cycle. The real value of the Carnot cycle comes from its being a standard against which the actual or the ideal cycles can be compared. The thermal efficiency of the Carnot cycle is a function of the sink and source temperatures only, and the thermal efficiency relation for the Carnot cycle (Eq. 9 2) conveys an important message that is equally applicable to both ideal and actual cycles: Thermal efficiency increases with an increase in the average temperature at which heat is supplied to the system or with a decrease in the average temperature at which heat is rejected from the system. The source and sink temperatures that can be used in practice are not without limits, however. The highest temperature in the cycle is limited by the maximum temperature that the components can withstand. The lowest temperature is limited by the temperature of the cooling medium utilized in the cycle such as a lake, a river, or the atmospheric air. 93 AIR-STANDARD ASSUMPTIONS

In gas power cycles, the working fluid remains a gas throughout the entire cycle. The actual gas power cycles are rather complex (chemical composition change due to combustion, open cycle operation as exhaust gases are rejected, friction,). To reduce the analysis to a manageable level, we utilize the following approximations, commonly known as the air-standard assumptions: 1. The working fluid is air, which continuously circulates in a closed loop and always behaves as an ideal gas. 2. All the processes that make up the cycle are internally reversible. 3. The combustion process is replaced by a heat-addition process from an external source. 4. The exhaust process is replaced by a heat-rejection process that restores the working fluid to its initial state.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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Another assumption that is often utilized to simplify the analysis even more is that air has constant specific heats whose values are determined at room temperature (25C, or 300 K). When this assumption is utilized, the air-standard assumptions are called the cold-air-standard assumptions. A cycle for which the air-standard assumptions are applicable is frequently referred to as an air-standard cycle. 94 AN OVERVIEW OF RECIPROCATING ENGINES Despite its simplicity, the reciprocating engine (basically a piston cylinder device) is one of the rare inventions that has proved to be very versatile and to have a wide range of applications.

The piston reciprocates in the cylinder between two fixed positions called the top dead center (TDC) and the bottom dead center (BDC). The distance between the TDC and the BDC is called the stroke of the engine. The diameter of the piston is called the bore. The air or airfuel mixture is drawn into the cylinder through the intake valve, and the combustion products are expelled from the cylinder through the exhaust valve.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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The minimum volume formed in the cylinder when the piston is at TDC is called the clearance volume. The volume displaced by the piston as it moves between TDC and BDC is called the displacement volume. The ratio of the maximum volume formed in the cylinder to the minimum (clearance) volume is called the compression ratio r of the engine:

(93)

Another term frequently used in conjunction with reciprocating engines is the mean effective pressure (MEP). It is a fictitious pressure that, if it acted on the piston during the entire power stroke, would produce the same amount of net work as that produced during the actual cycle. That is,

Wnet = MEP Piston area Stroke = MEP Displacement volume Or (94)

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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The mean effective pressure can be used as a parameter to compare the performances of reciprocating engines of equal size. The engine with a larger value of MEP delivers more net work per cycle and thus performs better.

Reciprocating engines are classified as: spark-ignition (SI) engines: the combustion of the airfuel mixture is initiated by a spark plug; representative ideal cycle = Otto cycle compression-ignition (CI) engines, the airfuel mixture is self-ignited as a result of compressing the mixture above its self-ignition temperature; representative ideal cycle= Diesel cycle 95 OTTO CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE FOR SPARK-IGNITION ENGINES

The Otto cycle is the ideal cycle for spark-ignition reciprocating engines. It is named after Nikolaus A. Otto, who built a successful four-stroke engine in 1876 in Germany using the cycle proposed by Frenchman Beau de Rochas in 1862. In most spark-ignition engines, the piston executes four complete strokes (two mechanical cycles) within the cylinder, and the crankshaft completes two revolutions for each thermodynamic cycle. These engines are called four-stroke internal combustion engines. A schematic of each stroke as well as a P-v diagram for an actual four-stroke spark-ignition engine is given below

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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In two-stroke engines, all four functions described above are executed in just two strokes: the power stroke and the compression stroke. In these engines, the crankcase is sealed, and the intake and exhaust valves are replaced by openings in the lower portion of the cylinder wall.

The two-stroke engines are generally less efficient than their four-stroke counterparts because of the incomplete expulsion of the exhaust gases and the partial expulsion of the fresh air fuel mixture with the exhaust gases. However, they are relatively simple and inexpensive, and they have high power-to-weight and power-to-volume ratios, which make them suitable for applications requiring small size and weight such as for motorcycles, chain saws, and lawn mowers.

The thermodynamic analysis of the actual four-stroke or two-stroke cycles described is not a simple task. However, the analysis can be simplified significantly if the air-standard assumptions are utilized. The resulting cycle, which closely resembles the actual operating conditions, is the ideal Otto cycle. It consists of four internally reversible processes: 1-2 Isentropic compression 2-3 Constant-volume heat addition 3-4 Isentropic expansion 4-1 Constant-volume heat rejection

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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The execution of the Otto cycle in a pistoncylinder device together with a P-v diagram and T-s diagram is illustrated below:

The Otto cycle is executed in a closed system, and disregarding the changes in kinetic and potential energies, the energy balance for any of the processes is expressed, on a unit-mass basis, as

(95)

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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No work is involved during the two heat transfer processes since both take place at constant volume. Therefore, heat transfer to and from the working fluid can be expressed as: (96a)

And

(96b)

Then the thermal efficiency of the ideal Otto cycle under the cold air standard assumptions becomes

Processes 1-2 and 3-4 are isentropic, and v2 = v3 and v4 = v1. Thus,

(97)

Substituting these equations into the thermal efficiency relation and simplifying give

(98)

Where

(9-9)

is the compression ratio and k is the specific heat ratio cp /cv.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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Equation 98 shows that under the cold-air-standard assumptions, the thermal efficiency of an ideal Otto cycle depends on the compression ratio of the engine and the specific heat ratio of the working fluid. This is also true for actual spark-ignition internal combustion engines.

We can observe from Fig. 917 that the thermal efficiency curve is rather steep at low compression ratios but flattens out starting with a compression ratio value of about 8. Therefore, the increase in thermal efficiency with the compression ratio is not as pronounced at high compression ratios. Also, when high compression ratios are used, the temperature of the air fuel mixture rises above the autoignition temperature of the fuel (the temperature at which the fuel ignites without the help of a spark) during the combustion process, causing an early and rapid burn of the fuel at some point or points ahead of the flame front, followed by almost instantaneous inflammation of the end gas. This premature ignition of the fuel, called autoignition, produces an audible noise, which is called engine knock.

Autoignition in spark-ignition engines cannot be tolerated because it hurts performance and can cause engine damage. The requirement that autoignition not be allowed places an upper limit on the compression ratios that can be used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines.

The second parameter affecting the thermal efficiency of an ideal Otto cycle is the specific heat ratio k. For a given compression ratio, an ideal Otto cycle using a monatomic gas (such as argon or helium, k = 1.667) will have the highest thermal efficiency.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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The specific heat ratio k decreases as the molecules of the working fluid get larger. At room temperature it is 1.4 for air, 1.3 for carbon dioxide, and 1.2 for ethane. The working fluid in actual engines contains larger molecules such as carbon dioxide, and the specific heat ratio decreases with temperature, which is one of the reasons that the actual cycles have lower thermal efficiencies than the ideal Otto cycle. The thermal efficiencies of actual spark-ignition engines range from about 25 to 30 percent.

96 DIESEL CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE FOR COMPRESSION-IGNITION ENGINES The CI engine (also known as diesel engines), first proposed by Rudolph Diesel in the 1890s, is very similar to the SI engine, differing mainly in the method of initiating combustion. In CI engines, the air is compressed to a temperature that is above the autoignition temperature of the fuel (no possibility of autoignition since only air), and combustion starts on contact as the fuel is injected into this hot air. Therefore, the spark plug and carburetor are replaced by a fuel injector in diesel engines. Moreover, these engines can be designed to operate at much higher compression ratios, typically between 12 and 24.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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The fuel injection process in diesel engines starts when the piston approaches TDC and continues during the first part of the power stroke. Therefore, the combustion process in these engines takes place over a longer interval and is approximated as a constant-pressure heat-addition process. In fact, this is the only process where the Otto and the Diesel cycles differ.

The amount of heat transferred to the working fluid at constant pressure and rejected from it at constant volume can be expressed as: (910a)

And

(910b)

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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Then the thermal efficiency of the ideal Diesel cycle under the cold-air standard assumptions becomes

We now define a new quantity, the cutoff ratio rc, as the ratio of the cylinder volumes after and before the combustion process:

(911)

Utilizing this definition and the isentropic ideal-gas relations for processes 1-2 and 3-4, we see that the thermal efficiency relation reduces to:

(912)

We notice the efficiency of a Diesel cycle differs from the efficiency of an Otto cycle by the quantity in the brackets. This quantity is always greater than 1. Therefore, for the same compression ratio:

(913)

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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Also, as the cutoff ratio decreases, the efficiency of the Diesel cycle increases. For the limiting case of rc=1, the quantity in the brackets becomes unity (proof by lHopitals rule), and the efficiencies of the Otto and Diesel cycles become identical. But diesel engines operate at much higher compression ratios and thus are usually more efficient than the spark-ignition (gasoline) engines. The diesel engines also burn the fuel more completely since they usually operate at lower revolutions per minute and the airfuel mass ratio is much higher than spark-ignition engines. Thermal efficiencies of large diesel engines range from about 35 to 40 percent.

Another ideal cycle that better approaches the real case would be to model the combustion process in both gasoline and diesel engines as a combination of two heat-transfer processes, one at constant volume and the other at constant pressure (this adds some complexity). The ideal cycle based on this concept is called the dual cycle. . The relative amounts of heat transferred during each process can be adjusted to approximate the actual cycle more closely in each case (Otto or Diesel).

97 STIRLING AND ERICSSON CYCLES There are two other cycles that involve an isothermal heat-addition process at TH and an isothermal heatrejection process at TL: the Stirling cycle for a closed system and the Ericsson cycle for an open steady flow system. They differ from the Carnot cycle in that the two isentropic processes are replaced by two constantvolume regeneration processes in the Stirling cycle and by two constant-pressure regeneration processes in the Ericsson cycle.

Both cycles utilize regeneration, a process during which heat is transferred to a thermal energy storage device (called a regenerator) during one part of the cycle and is transferred back to the working fluid during another part of the cycle

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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The Stirling cycle for a closed system is made up of four totally reversible processes: 1-2 T _ constant expansion (heat addition from the external source) 2-3 v _ constant regeneration (internal heat transfer from the working fluid to the regenerator) 3-4 T _ constant compression (heat rejection to the external sink) 4-1 v _ constant regeneration (internal heat transfer from the regenerator back to the working fluid)

The Ericsson cycle for an open system is very much like the Stirling cycle, except that the two constantvolume processes are replaced by two constant-pressure processes. The corresponding T-s and P-v diagrams with a comparison with the Carnot cycle are shown below:

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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The execution of the Stirling cycle requires rather innovative hardware. The actual Stirling engines, including the original one patented by Robert Stirling, are heavy and complicated. The execution of the Stirling cycle is explained with the help of the simplified hypothetical engine shown below (the regenerator between the two cylinders or any kind of porous plug with a high thermal mass-mass specific heat- can be a wire or a ceramic mesh):

A steady-flow system operating on an Ericsson cycle is shown in the following figure. Here the isothermal expansion and compression processes are executed in a compressor and a turbine, respectively, and a counter-flow heat exchanger serves as a regenerator.

Both the Stirling and Ericsson cycles are totally reversible, as is the Carnot cycle, and thus according to the Carnot principle, all three cycles must have the same thermal efficiency when operating between the same temperature limits: (914)

Stirling and Ericsson cycles are difficult to achieve in practice because they involve heat transfer through a differential temperature difference in all components including the regenerator. In reality, all heat transfer
Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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processes take place through a finite temperature difference, the regenerator does not have an efficiency of 100 percent, and the pressure losses in the regenerator are considerable. Both the Stirling and the Ericsson engines are external combustion engines. This offers several advantages: A variety of fuels can be used as a source of thermal energy. There is more time for combustion, and thus the combustion process is more complete These engines operate on closed cycles, and thus a working fluid that has the most desirable characteristics (stable, chemically inert, high thermal conductivity) can be utilized as the working fluid. Hydrogen and helium are two gases commonly employed in these engines. 98 BRAYTON CYCLE: THE IDEAL CYCLE FOR GAS-TURBINE ENGINES The Brayton cycle was first proposed by George Brayton for use in the reciprocating oil-burning engine that he developed around 1870. Today, it is used for gas turbines only (operating on an open cycle with internal combustion) where both the compression and expansion processes take place in rotating machinery:

The actual open gas-turbine cycle can be modeled as a closed cycle by utilizing the air-standard assumptions and considering that the combustion process is a constant-pressure heat-addition process from an external source, and replacing the exhaust process a constant pressure heat-rejection process to the ambient air.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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The corresponding ideal closed loop cycle is the Brayton cycle, which is made up of four internally reversible processes: 1-2 Isentropic compression (in a compressor) 2-3 Constant-pressure heat addition 3-4 Isentropic expansion (in a turbine) 4-1 Constant-pressure heat rejection

The T-s and P-v diagrams of an ideal Brayton cycle are shown below:

Notice that all four processes of the Brayton cycle are steady-flow processes. When the changes in kinetic and potential energies are neglected, the energy balance for a steady-flow process can be expressed, on a unitmass basis, as

(915)

Therefore, heat transfers to and from the working fluid are (916a)

And (916b)

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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Then the thermal efficiency of the ideal Brayton cycle under the cold-air standard assumptions becomes

Processes 1-2 and 3-4 are isentropic, and P2 _ P3 and P4 _ P1. Thus,

Substituting these equations into the thermal efficiency relation and simplifying give

(917)

Where (918)

is the pressure ratio and k is the specific heat ratio. Equation 917 shows that under the cold-air-standard assumptions, the thermal efficiency of an ideal Brayton cycle depends on the pressure ratio of the gas turbine and the specific heat ratio of the working fluid.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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A plot of thermal efficiency versus the pressure ratio for k = 1.4 (specific-heat-ratio value of air at room temperature) is given below:

The highest temperature in the cycle occurs at the end of the combustion process (state 3), and it is limited by the maximum temperature that the turbine blades can withstand. This also limits the pressure ratios that can be used in the cycle. For a fixed turbine inlet temperature T3, the net work output per cycle increases with the pressure ratio, reaches a maximum, and then starts to decrease, as shown below.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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Therefore, there should be a compromise between the pressure ratio (thus the thermal efficiency) and the net work output. With less work output per cycle, a larger mass flow rate (thus a larger system) is needed to maintain the same power output, which may not be economical. In most common designs, the pressure ratio of gas turbines ranges from about 11 to 16.

Notes: In gas turbines, an airfuel mass ratio of 50 or above is not uncommon. Therefore, in a cycle analysis, treating the combustion gases as air does not cause any appreciable error. In gas-turbine power plants, the ratio of the compressor work to the turbine work, called the back work ratio, is very high (usually > 50% because of the compression of a gas instead of a liquid for steam turbines). Therefore, the turbines used in gas-turbine power plants are larger than those used in steam power plants of the same net power output.

Deviation of Actual Gas-Turbine Cycles from Idealized Ones

The actual gas-turbine cycle differs from the ideal Brayton cycle on several accounts. For one thing, some pressure drop during the heat-addition and heat rejection processes is inevitable. More importantly, the actual work input to the compressor is more, and the actual work output from the turbine is less because of irreversibilities. The deviation of actual compressor and turbine behavior from the idealized isentropic behavior can be accurately accounted for by utilizing the isentropic efficiencies of the turbine and compressor as (919)

And (920)

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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where states 2a and 4a are the actual exit states of the compressor and the turbine, respectively, and 2s and 4s are the corresponding states for the isentropic case:

911 IDEAL JET-PROPULSION CYCLES Gas-turbine engines are widely used to power aircraft because they are light and compact and have a high power-to-weight ratio. Aircraft gas turbines operate on an open cycle called a jet-propulsion cycle. Intake air passes through a diffuser first, where it is decelerated and its pressure is increased before it enters the compressor. Then, it is mixed with fuel in the combustion chamber, where the mixture is burned at constant pressure. The high-pressure and high-temperature combustion gases partially expand in the turbine, producing just enough power to drive the compressor and other equipment. Finally, the gases expand in a nozzle to the ambient pressure and leave the engine at a high velocity in order to produce the necessary thrust for propelling the aircraft.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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In the ideal case, the turbine work is assumed to equal the compressor work. Also, the processes in the diffuser, the compressor, the turbine, and the nozzle are assumed to be isentropic. In the analysis of actual cycles, however, the irreversibilities associated with these devices should be considered. The effect of the irreversibilities is to reduce the thrust that can be obtained from a turbojet engine. The thrust is determined from Newtons second law (conservation of momentum). The pressures at the inlet and the exit of a turbojet engine are identical (the ambient pressure); thus, the net thrust is :

(927)

where Vexit is the exit velocity of the exhaust gases and Vinlet is the inlet velocity of the air, both relative to the aircraft ( so Vinlet is the aircraft velocity for an aircraft cruising in still air) and fuel mass flow rate is neglected compared to air mass flow rate .

The power developed from the thrust of the engine is called the propulsive power WP :

(928)

The net work developed by a turbojet engine is zero. Thus, we cannot define the efficiency of a turbojet engine in the same way as stationary gas turbine engines. Instead, a propulsive efficiency is defined as the ratio of the desired output (WP in the present case) to the required input ( the heating value of the fuel injected in the combustion chamber):

(929)

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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SUMMARY

A cycle during which a net amount of work is produced is called a power cycle, and a power cycle during which the working fluid remains a gas throughout is called a gas power cycle. The most efficient cycle operating between a heat source at temperature TH and a sink at temperature TL is the Carnot cycle, and its thermal efficiency is given by

The actual gas cycles are rather complex. The approximations used to simplify the analysis are known as the air standard assumptions. Under these assumptions, all the processes are assumed to be internally reversible; the working fluid is assumed to be air, which behaves as an ideal gas; and the combustion and exhaust processes are replaced by heat-addition and heat-rejection processes, respectively. The airstandard assumptions are called cold-air-standard assumptions if air is also assumed to have constant specific heats at room temperature.

In reciprocating engines, the compression ratio r and the mean effective pressure MEP are defined as

The Otto cycle is the ideal cycle for the spark-ignition reciprocating engines. Under cold-air-standard assumptions, the thermal efficiency of the ideal Otto cycle is

where r is the compression ratio and k is the specific heat ratio cp /cv.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

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The Diesel cycle is the ideal cycle for the compression ignition reciprocating engines. Its thermal efficiency under cold-air-standard assumptions is

where rc is the cutoff ratio, defined as the ratio of the cylinder volumes after and before the combustion process.

Stirling and Ericsson cycles are two totally reversible cycles that involve an isothermal heat-addition process at TH and an isothermal heat-rejection process at TL. They differ from the Carnot cycle in that the two isentropic processes are replaced by two constant-volume regeneration processes in the Stirling cycle and by two constant-pressure regeneration processes in the Ericsson cycle.

The ideal cycle for modern gas-turbine engines is the Brayton cycle. Under cold-air-standard assumptions, its thermal efficiency is

where rp = Pmax/Pmin is the pressure ratio and k is the specific heat ratio. The deviation of the actual compressor and the turbine from the idealized isentropic ones can be accurately accounted for by utilizing their isentropic efficiencies, defined as

And

where states 1 and 3 are the inlet states, 2a and 4a are the actual exit states, and 2s and 4s are the isentropic exit states.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.

Thermodynamics 2- ME204

Prepared by Pr. Noureddine Ait Messaoudene

Gas-turbine engines are widely used to power aircraft because they are light and compact and have a high power to- weight ratio. The net thrust developed by the engine is

where is the mass flow rate of gases, Vexit is the exit velocity of the exhaust gases, and Vinlet is the inlet velocity of the air, both relative to the aircraft. The power developed from the thrust of the engine is called the propulsive power and it is given by

Propulsive efficiency is a measure of how efficiently the energy released during the combustion process is converted to propulsive energy, and it is defined as

SUGGESTED READINGS R. A. Harmon. The Keys to Cogeneration and Combined Cycles. Mechanical Engineering, February 1988, pp. 6473. J. Heywood, Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals,New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988.

Based on Y. A. Cengel and M. A. Boles Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2007.